


Unpinned

by DragonWannabe



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Comfort, Domestic, F/F, Fluff, Hair, Kya loves lin and wants to take care of her, Soft old sapphics me thinks, for once i didn’t include any bad feeling in a fic other than milf frustration, kya-centric, well that was supposed to be mild but yes also milf frustration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 22:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonWannabe/pseuds/DragonWannabe
Summary: Lin has had a very rough week, and Kya helps her unwind and get ready for bed.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 10
Kudos: 109





	Unpinned

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [this Tumblr post](https://linbeifongappreciationacct.tumblr.com/post/640602615669047296/listen-i-know-we-all-agree-its-a-bun-and-all-but/amp), [this beautiful art](https://twitter.com/lilylivers2/status/1351275953465520131?s=21), and also by the fact I am really, really obsessed with hair, long or short [but especially long]. It’s also been a hot minute since I’ve written non-angst things [literally almost half a decade, whew]. Also I went on a Kya-Has-Air-Nomad-Heritage-Too tangent this entire fic oops.

Kya nervously fiddled with her book. It had been days since Lin had been back in their apartment, citing some crisis with the Triads. She had called every day to let Kya know of her plans, which was an improvement over the beginning of their relationship when Lin just didn’t come home. 

She was used to Lin not coming home on time. In the decades they had been friends and the four years they’d been something more, Lin’s hours were never a secret. Certainly they contributed to Lin and her brother’s disastrous relationship end, and they were the reason that Bumi and Kya found it hard to connect with her when they were in the city. Asking Lin to stop working was like asking a nomad to stop traveling — it wouldn’t work. 

Even if she didn’t come home on time, Lin normally came home. Kya could only recall a few other instances since she had moved in where Lin hadn’t come home at all, instead sleeping in her office. The first time, Kya had bundled up and went to the precinct herself, out of her mind with worry that something had gone horribly wrong, and that Lin was injured or worse. Once there she had found Lin barking orders at her weary officers. The few who had gotten injured, Kya helped heal along with the overworked precinct healers. Kya had gone home without her as Lin dealt with the attack on the President.

Lin had been infuriated with Kya. When she finally returned to the apartment, she stormed into the bathroom, showered and upon exiting, had told Kya in no uncertain terms to not interfere with Lin’s work again. Kya couldn’t remember who had started yelling first, but if a fly on the wall had said it was her, she’d believe it. Accusations stemming from worry on her part and tiredness from Lin’s had both women riled up. Eventually the two agreed on a system where Lin would call Kya, or have one of her officers do it, just so Kya knew she wasn’t dead yet. The phone ringing in the evening had been a source of dread, but Kya knew who Lin was, that she was just as devoted to her job as she was to Kya and forcing her to choose would be unfair. 

Still, the evening call hadn’t come yet like it had the past five days, and Kya could barely read the novel in front of her, she was fidgeting so much. 

There was a hostage situation that required Lin to stay at the office for nearly a week. Kya listened to the radio periodically to see if any developments had been made, but so far there was nothing. The group was holding nearly thirty people inside a bank, making increasingly ridiculous demands. Listening to it nonstop in these situations only filled her with anxiety. 

She went to the island during the day, hoping that her nieces and nephews could distract her, and, if they couldn’t, that the island’s other inhabitants could. Kya occasionally gave lessons on the island about the nomadic behavior of the airbenders from Before, having more experience than either of her brothers with the activity, in case the option held any appeal for the new benders. 

A key turned in the lock and pulled Kya from her thoughts. She immediately put her bookmark in place and set the novel onto the coffee table. She looked at the door only to be greeted by an exhausted Lin. Kya was burning to ask questions, but knew from experience that Lin could answer maybe two with one word answers before she snapped. 

“Is it over?” She never knew Lin to go home in a real crisis, but still didn’t want to assume, especially if it meant Kya relaxing too soon. 

“Yeah. I’m going to clean up and,” she waved her hand, stalking towards their room. Lin didn’t bother closing the door, and Kya could hear the familiar thud of her armor wrapping itself in Lin’s closet. Kya went to the kitchen, and made a cup of chamomile. Even exhausted as she was, the police chief might still find it difficult to unwind enough to actually sleep. The kettle whistled, and Kya set the tea bag to steep. She drummed her fingers against the counter, wishing the process could be sped up. 

An inarticulate, pained scream rang through the apartment and Kya ran to the bathroom, wrenching the door open. Lin was sitting on the ground, ripping at her hair. Kya knelt down and grabbed her hands before she could do much more damage. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kya asked softly. Lin pulled her hands free and swept one in an arc, wincing when her hair lifted, but no pins popped out like they typically did. 

“I can’t get them out.” Lin sounded wrecked, voice choked. She went back to pulling her hair, and a sick ripping noise was followed by a pin covered in gunmetal gray hair. She went back for another and Kya grabbed her hands again, stopping her. 

“It’s okay, shh, stop. Let me get them so you don’t rip your hair out. I made you a cup of tea. You can drink that while I get these out. It’s been a long week.” Kya suggested, trying to save Lin from the pain she’d cause herself.

Lin nodded tiredly, and Kya hurried back to the kitchen, hoping the tea wasn’t too overdone. She added the honey Lin preferred, and brought the mug back to the bathroom. Lin had moved so she was propped up against the cabinets under the sink, head leaning back, eyes closed. She opened one eye at the sound of Kya’s return, and Kya handed her the mug. Lin cradled it, and Kya put the lid down on the toilet and sat. 

“Can you scoot a little closer to me?” she asked. Lin obliged without protest. Kya stopped the tea from spilling with the movement, guiding the still warm liquid back into its container as Lin placed herself between Kya’s legs, her back facing her.

Once the younger woman was in place, Kya ran her fingers along the edges of the tightly pinned updo, stopping when she found a pin. “Let me know if I’m pulling too hard.” Lin hummed. 

She delicately pulled out the first pin and deposited it in the container Lin had pulled out and put on the sink before Kya had joined her. She repeated the process and on the tenth pin, the silence between the women was broken. “What have you done, these past few days? I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

She recognized that Lin wanted a distraction, from the past week or the pulling Kya didn’t care. “A couple of the new airbenders want to try being nomads for a while.”

“Oh?” Lin’s voice was soft, and Kya wanted to wrap her in a blanket and let her sleep for a day.

“Yeah, it’s a bunch of teenagers who want to do it. Tenzin had me come speak to them, since of Dad’s kids, I’m the only one who inherited the nomadic tendencies.” She pulled out four more pins in quick succession, dumping them with the rest. “I can’t tell if it’ll be harder or easier for them. On one hand, they can glide everywhere. I had to bum a ride or sail. On the other,” Another pin, “I was a healer to earn a bed and a meal, and they don’t have that opportunity.”

Part of Lin’s hair was beginning to unfurl, and Kya spotted a few pins she had missed. She made quick work of them and started on the sides Lin had twisted. It always astounded her how long Lin’s hair was, reaching over halfway down her back. It wasn’t until Kya lived with her that she realized how long it was. Kya had asked once, why she kept her hair so long if she kept it so tightly pinned all the time. Lin had blushed, at the time a rarity, and explained that it was one of her favorite features about herself, and she couldn’t bring herself to cut it off, despite the way it might have made her life easier. She and Toph had both bonded over their long hair when Lin was younger, and now she was loathe to give up one of their connections. 

“Of course, there’s the obvious rules, don’t commit crimes, don’t insult the local cultures, don’t get pregnant or get anyone _else_ pregnant.” Lin huffed a laugh, “Not that the last one was really a problem for me.”

“No, I’d imagine not.” Lin said quietly. 

Kya smiled, and leaned over to kiss the top of Lin’s head. “But, there’s a bunch of not so obvious rules to go by too. You have to stay in contact with someone who isn’t nomadic, so they know to go looking if something goes wrong. And you can’t carry very many things, so what you _do_ carry really needs to be multiple purpose or small.”

Kya carefully raked her fingers along the right side of Lin’s head, feeling for pins she might have missed while being mindful of the knots still there. Her fingers snagged on three pins, but after a couple more passes, she determined she had gotten all of them. 

“Koh’s name, Lin, how many pins do you typically use?” She was barely half done, and the container already had nearly fifty pins in it. 

“Usually only sixty or so, but I kept having to add pins as my hair fell out. I didn’t have the time to wash it and I’d prefer not having it down at the station anyway.” Kya hummed in understanding, starting again on the hair at the back of her head. 

“Like I was saying, for the boys this didn’t matter so much, but I really stressed to the girls the idea of safety. I certainly wasn’t careful back then and it’s a miracle no one ever tried to rob me or worse. I even told them a couple of near misses I had.” Eight more pins were pulled out, only a little finesse required to remove the tangled hair. 

“I also suggested they have _some_ sort of plan. I used those years as a time to learn about the swamp , benders’ healing, or whenever I heard about a famous waterbender in the area, I always followed that. A lot of these kids haven’t seen all the temples, so I suggested that as a starting point.” Kya explained, trailing off as she focused on one stubborn pin. She tried not pulling on her partner’s scalp, but heard Lin’s sharp intake as the pin was finally removed, some hairs still tangled in it. “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Lin assured her as Kya dropped the offending pin into the bowl with the rest of them and resumed her efforts.

“I’m still sorry. Besides the nomad talks, I had to heal one of the acolytes. They sprained their wrist from falling down a flight of stairs. Pema called, and I went out there as soon as I could. Rohan also wanted me to tell his Aunt Lin that he missed her, and I hope you don’t mind that I told him you missed him too.” Kya teased, three quarters of the way through now. 

“Oh no, if you tell him, he might start to think I care. Not like the solstice gifts and birthday celebrations didn’t already do that.” Lin offered dryly. Kya chuckled. 

“Meelo also wants to spar with you next time you’re free. I think he’s still a bit in love with you.” Kya started on the left bangs, carefully untwisting the hair as each pin was removed. 

“Don’t even joke about that.” Lin threatened. She hated being reminded of how six year old Meelo would follow her around and twelve year old Meelo wouldn’t stop staring at her. While Kya was reasonably sure it had petered back off into hero worship, she couldn’t resist teasing Lin that, father like son, she was Meelo and Tenzin’s first true love. 

Kya continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “Whether or not he’s still infatuated, he wants to spar with you. You should be flattered, he hasn’t been interested in sparring with me since he was eleven, and now he’s almost eighteen.” She pulled the last pin she could see from the left side, and again gently raked her hands through Lin’s hair. She found six more pins, and removed them all, shaking Lin’s hair until it fell down her back. “Okay, check. Did I get all of them?”

Lin twirled her hand again, and when no pins came flying, Kya congratulated herself. Lin sighed, and put the now empty mug on the sink and hauled herself up again. “You can leave, I can take care of the rest of this.” Lin picked up her brush and Kya grabbed her wrist before she could start. 

“Let me wash your hair and take care of you.” Kya suggested, and Lin shrugged, clearly too tired to argue. Kya took the brush from her and put it back on the sink. Surely Lin wasn’t going to just rip through the matted hair, but Kya didn’t want to chance it. 

She started the shower, and started stripping off her clothes. Lin watched her, and Kya waggled her eyebrows. Lin followed suit, and Kya looked over her for bruises that she could heal when they were already surrounded by water, but couldn’t see any. “Do you have anything that needs healing?”

“No. It wasn’t like that, this time.” Kya nodded and, checking the temperature, stepped into the shower, holding a hand out in invitation. Lin took it, and sighed once she stepped into the shower. Kya bent the stream so it wet Lin’s hair without getting in her face. She picked up the bottle of conditioner, and squeezed out a sizable glob, and massaged it into Lin’s hair. 

Once she felt like she had adequately coated the hair, she picked up the comb she favored, and gently started picking apart the snarls and tangles that resulted from five days of neglect. Lin hummed appreciatively, closing her eyes and letting the spray soothe her.

Another five minutes and Kya felt like she had gotten out all of the knots, and bent the water to rinse Lin’s hair. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed the shampoo and started massaging it into the shorter woman’s scalp. Lin let out a content sigh, and Kya felt giddy at making her relax this way. 

When the shampoo was rinsed away, Kya added more conditioner to the ends of Lin’s hair, and grabbed a washcloth and soap. She gently scrubbed Lin’s skin, rubbing the cloth over her chest, back and arms before moving to the unbelievably toned legs. 

Finally once all the ablutions had been performed, Kya rinsed Lin’s hair once more and ran a healing hand over the joints she knew were particularly prone to aching before turning off the shower. She bent the water off their bodies, and grabbed a towel to wrap around Lin as she stepped out of the shower to avoid chilling her. Kya grabbed the second towel and used it to soak up the majority of the water dripping from Lin’s hair. Lin looked in the mirror and took the hair towel from Kya, dragging it roughly through her hair to get out all the moisture. She started twisting it again into her typical updo when Kya reached out and stopped her. Lin raised an eyebrow and looked back at Kya through the mirror.

“Let me braid it, for tonight. I know you normally put it up, but it’ll be good for it to breathe after so long.” Lin looked like she didn’t believe her, but allowed Kya to pull the locks into a simple gathered plait, adding hair every new twist. She finished off with one of the leather ties she kept in the bathroom for her own hair. Lin pulled the tail of the braid around her shoulder where it rested against her breast. 

“Thanks. This was— this was nice.” Lin allowed, and Kya wrapped her arms around the other woman, once again glad about their height difference. She kissed Lin’s cheek and saw a flush cover her entire body. 

“Anytime. Now, let’s get you to bed. You’ve earned it.” Kya withdrew and started gathering the clothes they had strewn on the floor, following Lin to the bedroom to put them in the hamper. She doubled back for the mug, putting it back in the kitchen where it belonged. Upon returning to their bedroom, Lin had laid out Kya’s night clothes and was already curled into bed wearing her own. She quickly redressed and joined her lover in bed. 

Lin’s eyes opened at the disturbance, and Kya cursed at interrupting the other’s sleep. Lin reached out her arm and Kya nestled into her embrace. She squeezed and buried her head into Kya’s shoulder, and Kya couldn’t stop herself from pressing her lips to her forehead. 

“Goodnight.” she whispered.

Lin hummed, and soon started to snore. Kya followed suit, thinking the chief had the right idea.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to talk about TLOK, Kyalin, or anything else, I’m on twitter and Tumblr as @lilyliv3rs.


End file.
